


A Mother's Job

by Kannika



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 19:56:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9400739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kannika/pseuds/Kannika
Summary: It seemed Nana’s only job, these days, was waiting. Waiting for Bianchi and the kids to get back from their trips so she could go with them on new ones. Waiting for Iemitsu to come back from his business trips so she could see him and remember why it was she married him. Waiting for Tsuna to come home from hanging out with his friends with God knew what scrapes and bruises on him. Waiting for information, for people to talk to, for someone to explain what everyone was doing when they left.She’s afraid she’ll be waiting a long time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of feelings about poor Nana being left in the dark for the entirety of the series. Her character had so much potential.

It seemed Nana’s only job, these days, was waiting. 

Waiting for Bianchi and the kids to get back from their trips so she could go with them on new ones. Waiting for Iemitsu to come back from his business trips so she could see him and remember why it was she married him. Waiting for Tsuna to come home from hanging out with his friends with God knew what scrapes and bruises on him. Waiting for information, for people to talk to, for someone to explain what everyone was doing when they left. 

Right now, she’s waiting for Tsuna. He hasn’t been home since he left for school at seven this morning and it’s two in the morning, so she’s getting a little concerned. He may be fourteen, and they may live in a relatively safe neighborhood, but Tsuna’s still her son. She still worries about him whenever he leaves. 

She didn’t mean to fall asleep, but she wakes to the sound of the door opening, the click of the lock, and Tsuna stubbing his toe on the doorframe and hissing in pain. He was trying to be quiet, but he’s never been very good at it. She had never been so relieved for it until now. 

“You’re back.” She says sleepily, and he freezes at the foot of the stairs and whirls around, looking for her. When he sees her, he relaxes, and she realizes that when he’s caught off guard, his instinct is to brace himself. For what, she’s not sure she wants to know. 

“Hi.” He says, uncertainly. Testing the waters. “I was trying not to wake you.” 

“I was already up.” Nana lies, trying to weigh her words and figure out what to say. She’s terrified of chasing him away when he already tiptoes around her. She’ll literally never see him again. “Where were you?”

She’s trying to be casual, but Tsuna sees through her. He always does. He smiles apologetically. “Sorry, Mom. Yamamoto got a new video game. We lost track of time. I didn’t mean to worry you.” 

Nana smiles back. “Don’t worry, I’m glad you’re having fun with your friends. Just… tell me next time?” 

“I will. Like I said, we lost track of time. Sorry.” 

He smiles and turns, but there’s something on his cheek that catches her attention. Something bright. 

Nana stands abruptly. It takes a second to swallow her fear so that when she speaks, it will sound composed. Like she isn’t alarmed. “Tsu-kun, are you hurt?”

He stops again. For a second, he looks like he wants to run so they won’t have to talk about this, but he turns to look at her again. There’s a cut on his cheek that’s bleeding and angry, and it looks like he’s tried to get it to stop before because some of the blood is smeared on the hand he puts to it now. “It… looks worse than it is.” He says, but his voice is shaking. She wasn’t meant to see it. He knows how it looks. “I didn’t want to worry you.” 

She walks over to judge that for herself, running her fingers over it to see how deep it is. “You have a new battle scar.” She says lightly.

It’s marginal, she wouldn’t feel it all if she didn’t have her hand on his cheek, but he flinches; Nana pauses, feeling like she’s close to something. To an answer that she’s been waiting for, to explain this. What they’re doing. Why he doesn’t tell her anything. 

If she is, Tsuna doesn’t tell her now any more than he did before. He looks down and avoids her eyes. “I tripped on the way home because it was dark.”

Nana smiles. Forces her thoughts down. “Well, let’s get you cleaned up.” 

It’s a little thing, but she’s happy that he obediently sits in a kitchen chair and lets her get the first aid kit out of the bathroom. He lets her wipe the blood of his cheek and hands and where it’s dripped down to his neck. He lets her get anesthetic and clean it, wincing and gritting his teeth against showing that it stings. He lets her put an oversized bandage on it, smoothing down the edges. 

Nana tries to think of when she used to do this for his scraped knees. Instead it feels eerily similar to waiting at Lambo’s bedside when he got struck by lightning during that storm. She tries to push it away because the memory makes her feel weak and makes her eyes sting. It was bad enough when it was Lambo. If it’s Tsuna, she’s afraid it’ll kill her. 

Tsuna smiles. “Thanks, Mom. I actually don’t know if I could have done that good a job by myself.” 

Nana smiles as she throws away the bloody towels. “No problem. I’m glad I could help. We’ll check on it tomorrow and see if it’s healing better.”

Tsuna agrees and starts inching toward the stairs. “Sorry I worried you. We should go to bed. You and Bianchi are taking the kids to the zoo tomorrow, right?” 

She’s so distracted watching him leave it takes her a second to realize he’s asked her a question. “Hm? Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. They’ll be up early. Hope you can sleep through it.” 

Tsuna nods, backs up another step, and then starts taking the stairs two at a time, nearly stumbling in his haste. 

Panic seizes in Nana’s throat. She might not see him in the morning. He might come home with worse tomorrow night.

“I love you, Tsu-kun.”

He freezes and skitters to a stop halfway up the stairs to face her. “W-wha-?” He turns around fully, and it actually hurts how confused he looks. “What brought that up?”

Nana smiles brighter, and when Tsuna copies her he grimaces as it moves the bandage.

“You’re growing up so fast.” She stands to follow him up the stairs to her own room. Now that he’s home, maybe she’ll actually be able to sleep soundly. “I feel… like I’m missing it.” 

Tsuna turns around and raises an eyebrow at her. Nana has to admit, she was surprised by herself that time. Maybe it was the late hour, maybe it was that this was the first time she’d really seen him in a week, but it felt like she was running out of time to tell him everything. And she meant _everything._

“If you ever need help,” she says uncertainly, and puts a hand on his cheek so he has to look at her- and she loses her train of thought suddenly. He’s been avoiding her eyes for weeks, and now that she looks at them she knows it’s because they’re different. More serious, more tempered and mature, and more exhausted. In the dim light, they even look like they’re a lighter brown than they’ve ever been, like the color’s been washed out. 

He’s seen things. Things that are breaking him. And he’s not telling her.

“Mom?” Tsuna asks uncertainly. Not breaking her gaze, but looking at her like she’s the one who needs to be watched. “Are you okay?” 

Nana swallows hard. “Yeah.” She says, and forces a smile. She’s doing that a lot. “Sorry. Just tired.” 

Tsuna smiles back. It looks like he’s forcing it, too, but he puts his hand on hers and gives it a gentle squeeze. “Love you, too, Mom.” He says quietly, with an intensity that makes her heart stutter. Like it could be the last chance he has to say it. “Thanks.” 

Nana smiles wider, but looks away first. “Good night,” she says quietly, and goes into her room without looking behind at him. He’ll see her crying. She swore a long time ago that he would never, ever see her cry. She was the only parent around to raise him. She would not make him bear her burdens as well as his own. 

She makes it into her room, shuts the door, and sinks down against it. Now that she’s in here, alone, she doesn’t need to cry anymore. Instead she shuts her eyes to pray. For whatever Tsuna’s involved in, that he comes home to her again tomorrow. 

Then she waits for sleep.


End file.
